


When the lights go out

by Annablue



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 09:57:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19972168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annablue/pseuds/Annablue
Summary: A Trollhunter shouldn’t be afraid of the dark.” He said vehemently.“All the other Trollhunters were trolls. They live in the dark.” She pulled him closer. “You’re human, we’re not used to the night like they are.”





	When the lights go out

**Author's Note:**

> I edited this some, so it's a bit different than before. I had been stuck writing on my phone, so it didn't come out as good as i'd wanted. Hopefully this is a little better

Claire was in the middle of having a perfectly good evening when the power went out. She was curled up on the couch, bowl of guac and chips at her side when she suddenly found herself staring off into darkness. Sighing, she got up and wandered through the house, aimlessly flipping switches as she went along. All the lights were off, and the house was eerily silent without the buzz of electricity.  
Claire wandered upstairs and found a couple of half burned out candles in one of her bathroom drawers. She lit one and retired to her room. Her parents had gone on a business trip, taking Enrique with them, making the silence of the house all the more deafening.  
Setting the candle on her desk, Claire retrieved one of her school books. Flipping it open to her bookmarked spot, she settled in for some studying. Not long after she began, her phone dinged. Claire picked it up, opening her messages.  
Toby: _Hey, is your power out?_  
Claire: _Yeah, is it everywhere?_  
Toby: _Looks like the whole neighborhood. ARRGH!!!’s upset. We almost set a new record on Go Go Sushi!_  
Claire: _Have you heard from Jim yet?_  
Toby: _Nope, i’ve been busy trying to teach ARRRGH!!! to play cards. He keeps eating the jokers._  
Claire: _I’ll text him. Tell me if you hear from him._  
Toby: _Will do, Shadowdancer._  
Claire clicked on Jim’s picture and typed out a quick message: _Hey, you okay? Powers out at my place_ , then put her phone back on her desk and got back to studying.  
About thirty minutes later Claire got up and stretched. She grabbed her phone and opened it. Jim had never texted her back, which was odd. She looked through her messages, checking that her text had made it through. According to her phone, it had. Claire texted Toby about it, and quickly got her reply. He hadn’t heard from Jim either.  
Claire dialed his number and held her phone to her ear as she walked down the stairs, heading to the kitchen to find a snack. On the fourth ring, she heard him pick up. Claire breathed a sigh of relief.  
“Jim? What’s up? I texted you, like, an hour ago.” She heard shaky breathing coming from the other side of the line. She knit her eyebrows, “Jim?”  
“Claire?” The word was quiet, a mix between a sob and a whimper. Claire felt her heart skip a beat at the sound.  
“Jim, what’s wrong? Jim?” Her only response was his shaky breaths. Something was wrong. “I’m coming over, just hang on. I’ll be there in a minute.”  
She hung up and shot Toby a quick text, explaining the situation. Running upstairs, Claire grabbed a few candles, some matches, and her shadowstaff. Casting a portal, she jumped to Jim’s house.  
Claire came out in the middle of his room. It somehow seemed darker here than it did at her house, and she was immediately put on edge. She looked around the room, trying to listen for Jim. She finally heard his quiet sobs coming from the corner of the room.  
She rushed towards him, calling his name. He was curled up on the floor, face buried atop his knees.  
“Hold on Jim, it’s okay.” Claire said, fingers fumbling with the candles and matches she had brought. “It’s okay, just hold on.” She managed to get several lit and spread them in a wide half circle around her and Jim. With their area reasonably well lit, Claire reached over to shake Jim’s shoulder.  
He looked miserable. His eyes were red and puffy, his hair a disheveled rats nest. Worst were the tears, still making their was down his cheeks. He looked at her with his bloodshot eyes, recognition slowly dawning in them.  
“Claire.” He sobbed. Claire pulled him against her, tucking his head into the crook of her neck. His sobs grew louder as Claire ran her hands gently through his hair.  
When Jim’s cries finally began to quiet, Claired pulled back a little to look at him.  
“What happened?” She asked gently, cupping his face in her hand. “Why are you crying?”  
Jim sniffled. “I-I don’t know. I was doing homework and the power went out and everything was just so dark…” He buried his face in her shoulder. “I’m sorry.” He whispered.  
“No, don’t say sorry.” Claire brushed a stray tear off his cheek. “You don’t need to apologize.”  
“A Trollhunter shouldn’t be afraid of the dark.” He said vehemently.  
“All the other Trollhunters were trolls. They live in the dark.” She pulled him closer. “You’re human, we’re not used to the dark like they are.”  
“I’m still their protector. And a teenager! How many teenagers do you know are scared of the dark?”  
“More than you think. And none of them have been through what you have. Jim, you were alone, in the Darklands, for two weeks. It’s no surprise you got scared when the lights went out.”  
Jim sniffed softly. “I’m still sorry Claire. You shouldn’t have to-“  
Claire pulled away from Jim just enough to kiss his lips. She gently cupped his face in her hands as she pulled away, forcing him to look at her.  
“It’s okay.” She said firmly, not giving him any room to argue. Jim stared at her for a minute longer before laying his head back on her shoulder and scooting closer.  
They sat cuddling in silence until the power finally clicked back on. Claire yawned and checked her phone. It was late, one in the morning. They needed to get to bed.  
Claire shook Jim lightly, waking him from his doze. Blowing out the candles, she helped him over to his bed and tucked him in. He gave her a sleepy smile, muttering, "‘Night Claire.” before passing out.  
Claire pressed one last kiss to his forehead before making sure his desk lamp was on and portaling back to her house. Claire climbed into bed, making a mental note to check up on Jim in the morning before falling asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is only my second fic. Hopefully it’s better than my last. Any and all criticism always welcome and encouraged. Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!


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